Ordal Hall Constitution

Established September 2015

Article I: Mission Statement

We, the residents of Ordal Hall at Pacific Lutheran University, strive to create an accepting, diverse, open, and safe living environment in which our residents can expect to be treated equally and respectfully. The purpose of this organization is to promote unity and fellowship, achieve high scholarship, and to encourage responsible leadership within the community at Pacific Lutheran University.

Residence Hall Council (RHC) is the official leadership group of Ordal Hall that is empowered to create and fund programs, and discuss and make decisions about hall issues.

Article II: Membership, Elected Members and Their Duties

  1. Membership: All residents of hall are members of Residence Hall Council and may attend and participate in all Council meetings. Any resident may attend and vote at the meetings, including Resident Assistants (RAs). The Head Advisor for the council is the Resident Director (RD), with the Resident Assistant with Additional Duties (RAAD), acting as Co-Advisor.
  2. Executive Officers: There are six executive officers. Executive officers are elected to their positions at a general election by the third week of the academic year, or within the last month of the previous academic year. They work with the RAs to carry out specific leadership duties for the hall. This executive council has the ability to create other positions at their discretion once these six are filled. Required RHC positions and their duties include:
  3. President:
  4. Preside over RHC meetings
  5. Attend all positional meetings called by the RHA Executive Board President
  6. Maintain regular contact with their hall’s Resident Director (RD)
  7. Know and fulfill all Presidents Council duties
  8. Assist the RHA President in creating a positional contract
  9. Vice President:
  10. Fulfill any of their RHC President’s duties in the event that their RHC President is unable to fulfill them
  11. Maintain careful record of RHC finances including budgets, reimbursements, and hall dues
  12. Draft a tentative budget for their RHC by the end of the academic year in which they are elected
  13. Attend all positional meetings called by the RHA Executive Board Vice President
  14. Assist the RHA Vice-President in creating a positional contract
  15. Activities and Outreach Director:
  16. Administrate planning of their hall’s required all-campus event
  17. Administrate or delegate planning of hall’s required monthly programming. This programming should promote the six pillars of community (leadership, sustainability, social justice, health and wellness, academics, community service)
  18. Attend positional meetings called by the RHA Executive Board Activities and Outreach Director
  19. Assist the RHA Activities and Outreach Director in creating a positional contract
  20. Public Relations Director:
  21. Keep minutes of RHC meetings and distribute them to RHC members
  22. Attend all positional meetings called by the RHA Executive Board Public Relations Director
  23. Administrate promotion of events planned by their RHC
  24. Administrate publishing of a hall publication on a monthly basis at minimum, and turn it in to the RHA Executive Board Public Relations Director
  25. Assist the RHA Public Relations Director in creating a positional contract
  26. Sustainability Director
  27. Aim to educate their resident community regarding issues of sustainability and diversity, focusing on their relations to responsible community living and stewardship of the earth
  28. Maintain the hall compost bins
  29. Attend all positional meetings called by the RHA Sustainability Director
  30. Assist the RHA Sustainability Director in programs within their hall and the PLU community as a whole
  31. Assist the RHA Sustainability Director in creating a positional contract
  32. Social Justice Director
  33. Highlight varying perspectives and promote education and awareness of all social groups and cultures, for example, issues of justice, diversity, religious identity, etc.
  34. Focus on the PLU mission statement: “empower students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership and care—for other people, their communities, and for the earth” in understanding social justice
  35. Help to break down the stereotypes, through education, outreach and service that limit the relations of the university campus community and that of Parkland and the greater Tacoma area
  36. Attend all positional meetings called by the RHA Social Justice Director
  37. Assist the RHA Social Justice Director in programs within their hall
  38. Assist the RHA Social Justice Director in creating a positional contract
  39. Optional Position: First-Year Outreach Director
  40. Act as a liaison between the RHC and Ordal First-Years in order to best represent the interests of both sides.
  41. Assist other RHC members in assuring that after they leave their respective offices, future officers will have a firm understanding of Ordal procedures and objectives.
  42. Attend any and all RHA positional meetings.
  43. Assist RHA in creating a positional contract.
  44. Optional Positions and Appointments
  45. May be added on by the discretion of the RHC and advisors. Elections for these optional positions would be facilitated by RHA.
  46. The RHC will nominate one person to be the potential hall representative on the Community Review Board (CRB). The RHC will be given dates and requirements of this position each year by the advisor of the CRB.
  47. Elected Member Requirements, Attendance Requirements, Presidential Succession, and Election Process
  48. Elected Member Requirements:
  49. Commitment to Academics: Elected members must maintain at least a 2.50 cumulative GPA during their term and be a full-time student. RHC elected members may not be members of the Residence Hall Association (RHA) Executive Board or an Associated Students of Pacific Lutheran University (ASPLU) Executive during their term in office.
  50. Attendance: Attendance at each of the following events is mandatory unless pre-excused. To get a meeting pre-excused, you must contact your RD or RHC President (for RHC Meetings) or your RHA positional representative (for positional meetings, Presidents’ Council, and RHC General Assembly). In the event that an executive will be missing an RHC meeting, he/she is expected to notify their fellow RHC executives via e-mail. The following policy outlines the expectations for RHC members with regard to the following meetings:
  51. RHC Meetings
  52. Positional Meetings (includes Presidents’ Council for RHC Presidents)
  53. RHC General Assembly
  54. One-on-one meetings with RD and/or RHA positional representative
  55. Activities required by the corresponding RHA positional representative

Excuses must be deemed reasonable by the RD, RHC President, or RHA positional representative (subject to meeting being missed). Neglecting to attend meetings without prior excusal will be met with the following courses of action:

  • First unexcused/unnotified absence: e-mail warning from RHA positional representative and /or RD
  • Second unexcused/unnotified absence: one-on-one meeting with RHA positional representative and/or RD to discuss absences and warn about potential action if the behavior continues
  • Third unexcused/unnotified absence: meeting with RHA positional representative and/or RD to discuss terms of participating in RHC as a representative of your community

RHA and/or the RD will respond to other actions, such as frequent tardiness, as needed.

  1. Presidential Succession: In the event that the President resigns or is no longer able to hold office, the Vice President will serve as Interim President. A permanent replacement will be elected as soon as possible in a manner the council sees fit.
  2. Election Process: Elections are held in April by popular vote of all hall residents of the current year. This election shall be presided over by RHA.

Article III: Ordal Hall Council Operations

  1. Meetings: The executive and general councils shall each meet once every week, at a time and location established by the Head Advisor. Any Ordal resident may attend RHC meetings. The President shall use an agenda to run the meeting, which will be available to those in attendance. Meetings should include updates from all executive members.
  2. Quorum: A minimum of half the executive officers must be present to hold a vote of any kind. The President and Head Advisor (or respective proxy) must attend all RHC meetings. Only a Resident Director or Ordal Resident Assistant may proxy for the Head Advisor.
  3. Constitutional Revisions and Amendments: Any revisions or changes need to be completed by the first week of May and approved at Presidents’ Council. Any part of the constitution can be rendered null and void by RHA. Conflicting portions can be amended to RHA standards.

Article IV: Ordal Residence Hall Council Traditions

  1. Cool Programs: Future councils might consider the following programs to continue or revive tradition
  2. T-shirts
  3. All-Hall Retreat
  4. “Fordal” Games
  5. Ordal Casino Night
  6. Community treat-or-treating
  7. Spring Soiree
  8. Holiday mugs